Angry Parents Filing Suit

This morning, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook about some angry parents who are suing the Chicago Board of Education. When I read about why they were such angry parents who were driven to litigation, I couldn’t help but be angry on their behalf. There’s no one size fits all approach when it comes to how to discipline a child. Just when you think you’ve figured out how to discipline a child based on your own, that’s when you come across a child who absolutely does not respond to the methods you’ve used for your own (or first). But still, there are some methods of discipline that I’m pretty sure we can almost universally agree are not appropriate for use on children.

A first grader (so the kid was probably no more than seven years old) was handcuffed, isolated, told that he was going to jail, and that he would never see his parents again. This brilliant method of discipline was done by a school security guard.

Just reading that brought out the angry mother within. Who does this jackbooted thug think he is?

Should children be handcuffed for *this*? There’s a security guard in Chicago who thought so…

When I found out what the kid’s offense was, my blood just boiled. The kid was talking during class.

Talking.

Seriously?

Maybe I’m just a bleeding liberal with no clue how to discipline a child, but I don’t care what a six year old does… short of causing bodily harm to himself or someone else, of course… but there is just no cause for handcuffing a little kid like that. And then telling him that he’s going to jail for talking and will never see his parents again? For talking?

I admire the restraint of those angry parents for limiting themselves to legal action after the school board refused to interact with them.

I’m disappointed, however, that the parents are limiting their suit to the school board. If it were me, I’d name the principal and the security guard who thought that this was a good idea in the suit. And I wouldn’t stop until the security guard was fired and hopefully arrested for wrongful imprisonment, child abuse, and any other charge that could be thrown at him. This guy shouldn’t be a security guard working with children. He should be in jail.

And, of course, that’s also on top of my being amazed that these angry parents didn’t just beat down the security guard in the first place for having the nerve to put his hands on their child. How dare this rent-a-cop? Who on earth does that kind of crap and doesn’t get charged with criminal behavior?

What do you think? How would you react if it was your child who was put in handcuffs and then told that he would be arrested and never see his parents again?

Originally written September 2, 2011. You can read the original article here. Update: I did a search to see if I could find out any details, like if the suit is ongoing or what have you, but I came up empty.

oh wow!! I think that they went way overboard and I would be filing suit too. Poor kid had to go through that, my son is in 1st and I couldn’t imagine it happening to him. I do think some people need to lose their jobs too, another reason why I am thinking of home schooling next year.

My oldest son was 7.5 years old (this was 7 years ago) and he was going through a difficult time. It was later revealed to me why he was acting out, and it was more than understandable, rocked my “safe” world, and we had get him some therapy to help what had happened. However, I only say all that to explain his behavior that really was out of character. I really don’t want to go into it publicly plus THAT isn’t the point of the post.

Point is during this time, he was refusing to get on the school bus at the apartment complex we lived at. I was trying to physically help him on the bus (I have never spanked my children, but I was trying to encourage him while nudging him towards the bus). He took his backpack off, threw it at me, and was being quite mouthy.

At this point, I had decided we were going home, I was getting to the root of what was bothering him in the privacy of our home, and THEN I would take him to school if I chose to depending on WHY he was so adamant about going.

Before I could even get his backpack off the ground, a woman sitting in one of the cars lined up behind the bus got out of her car. Picture the bus in the driveway of an Apartment complex, cars lined up waiting to be able to drive off to work when the bus left.

She was a cop. She took off her handcuffs and was physically trying to cuff my child telling him he was coming with her to to jail if he didn’t get on the bus. I can’t tell you exactly what I said, but I know that Mama bear immediately kicked in.

I vocalized very clearly that she would not do this, I was taking him home, and his father and I would discipline our own child. I am not really sure why she didn’t challenge me. I don’t know if she didn’t have authority to do what she tried to do, because she was definitely a cop, driving a cruiser and all.

I can tell you that I was so angry I “blacked” out mentally and just reacted. If he was 15 and had just stolen something I would have reacted differently, but to try and handcuff my 7 year old for basically throwing a tantrum? No flipping way, not on my watch!

Um WOW! What is wrong with the security guard that he has to take a power trip like that with a little kid!!! I would be suing more than just the school board too. Are there not protocols and procedures that are followed for discipline in a school? I can see having to stay inside for recess or having to do an extra chore or extra homework or something, not being handcuffed! Ridiculous.

i think the “rent a cop” should be fearing for their life. after the wrath they would be getting from my hubby and i. and i would be pulling my child out of that school and causing an uproar.. i could not imagine. horrific !!!